Fire hat stickers

Dear Matthew:

Why do people have those firefighter stickers on the back of their cars? I figure the driver must work for the fire department. But why are they advertising it? Is it in case there's a fire on the freeway, and the call goes out "Is there firefighter on the freeway?" Then someone can reply, "That driver is a firefighter!" That's my best guess.

-- Young Steve, the net

Hmmm-- an emergency communication system one step up from smoke signals and log drums. In fact a yellow-helmet stickers with red letters signifies a dues-paying member of the California State Firefighters Association. A voluntary professional organization. Red-helmet stickers are given out by certain fire districts (e.g., City of San Diego, CDF, etc.) to all firefighters in their employ. Not all districts do this. If you tailgate 'em, you can probably read what district they're from.